Page 95 of Burning Ember

I’m about to do so when I hear Doll speak.

“Did you talk to Mav?”

Dozer groans and lifts his head. “No. Not yet. Haven’t gotten a chance to.”

Every cell in my body revolts. “Talk to me about what?”

Dozer spins around. His hands go up defensively. “Mav, it’s not—”

“Save it. Been standin’ here long enough to know what it is.” He was going to kiss her. Questions run rampant through my mind . . .Was she going to let him? Has he kissed her before? Have they done more than that? Fuck.All the times I walked past his door and heard them on the other side . . .

What in the ever-loving fuck have they been doing?

Doll slowly slips off the counter. I try to find the answers in her expression but she won’t look at me. In fact, her eyes stay focused on the floor. Her cheeks though are beet red.

“I agreed she’d be for Edge,” Dozer starts, “but—”

Oh no. NO! Fuck no. He’s not doing this. “No but’s. That’s the fuckin’ deal you made, brother.”

I say it because I can’t fuckin’ tell him the truth. That I want the same goddamn thing he wants. Doll to myself, and to put an end to her being a present for Edge.

The last thing I need is Dozer and me going head to head right now. Not when we’re going for a stroll in Greenback territory without them knowing. And I sure as hell am not going to play tug a war with Doll when she’s right here and already skittish.

I’m also a little terrified that if it came down to it and we made her choose right now, she wouldn’t fucking choose me. Why would she? From day one I’ve been making her life miserable. And Dozer’s been protecting her.

What I need is time. Time to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do, and time to prove to Doll that I’m not the asshole I’ve been.

To Doll, I bark, “Pack your shit. You’re not stayin’ here anymore.” I don’t want her here while I’m gone. Obviously, I can’t trust my brothers to keep their fuckin’ hands to themselves.

Her head snaps up and worry fills her eyes.

Yes, there’s probably a better way to approach this, because I’m not winning any points still acting like a dick, but I can’t help it. I’m pissed. I’m jealous as fuck, and I’ve never been on the losing end of this game before.

Charging toward me, Dozer gets right up into my face. Nose to fuckin’ nose with me. “You want to dole out punishment . . . I’m right the fuck here. You’re not sendin’ her packin’ because of somethin’ I tried to do. Fuck, she didn’t even want me to.”

The admission is music to my fucking ears. But I push it to the back of my mind to think on later. I stare him dead in the eyes. “I let you beat on me last night because I had it comin’. But if you don’t step off me right the fuck now, we will throw down. And I won’t be the only one bleedin’ this time. That what you want?” His nostril’s flare and the muscles in his neck flex. I see in his eyes that he wants to hit me. Instead, he draws in a big breath and steps back.

“I stepped up because you wouldn’t. Now I’m runnin’ this fuckin’ club and since I can’t trust you all to keep your hands off her, I’m makin’ some changes. Her being here for you to take advantage of is one of them. Plus, we gotta hit the fuckin’ road. As it is, we’re gonna be drivin’ all night. And she’s not stayin’ here while we’re gone.”

His brows are pinched together. “Hit the road . . . and go where?”

“Whiz has a lead on our witness. We leave in an hour. She’ll stay with one of the old ladies until we get back.”

Before I leave, I tell Doll, “Get your stuff, and come find me.”

Dozer hollers after me, “Mav, where the fuck you takin’ her?”

I stop midway through the swinging doors, and ask over my shoulder, “What? Don’t you trust me, brother? I give you my word she’ll be in good hands. That should be good enough for you. Right? My word.”

In the main room, I slap Taz on the back. “Headed out to the garage. Need to blow off some steam. You in?”

He rolls his shoulders and stands. A crazy fucking grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. Fuck, yeah.”

EMBER

Mav told me to pack a bag, but I don’t need to. It’s already packed, ready, and waiting. So, here I sit on Dozer’s beige bed, staring at his blank walls, in his overly plain and impersonal room, letting time tick by as I chew on my thumbnail and worry if the near kiss I had with Dozer will turn Mav against me yet again.

It seemed to. Dozer’s declaration didn’t help matters either. Not only did it make my lunch curdle in my stomach, but also it brought out the same sharp-tongued devil I met the day I came here.